The third annual Youth4AM Opening Ceremony and Speaker Night has ended. See what this year’s esteemed guests had to say on the topic of #StopAsianHate!
Yu Lin – NYC Council District 38 Candidate (Sunset Park, Red Hook, and Greenwood Heights)
“Without a voice in the public, we are nothing to the public.”
Having experienced and witnessed numerous forms of racism, Yu Lin acknowledges that Asians have a higher income than the national average, but higher income does not equate to having a voice. Instead, the solution is to learn to actively demonstrate Asian power through civic participation. Be loud or lose your voice in the political world.
Kenny Xu – Author of An Inconvenient Minority
“Your education doesn’t determine everything in your life.”
Like Yu Lin’s message, Kenny agrees that despite Asian American financial standings, participation in the political world is important. However, Kenny also calls out a common Asian mentality toward education: “If you work hard, you can be anything”. He argues that education doesn’t determine everything in your life. Multiple CEOs were C students and yet are successful today. The message is that you can’t just be smart to succeed. Learning to be valued and trusting in your values is just as important. Companies can replace certain workers. Be the kind of worker that possesses invaluable skills that companies can’t replace.
Jack Liang – Tech Entrepreneur, Model, and Activist
“Expanding your horizon is key, and you can’t be what you can’t see”
Jack emphasizes the importance of Asian representation in his modeling and activism coming from his experience of racism and hatred growing up. His advice to the audience is to be proud, love yourself, love the people like you, don’t be afraid to be different, and be picky with whom you surround yourself with because the people you’re with can affect your perspectives and attitudes.
Teresa Ting – Actress and Activist
“If you are passionate about something, you should just put your heart and soul into it”
Having a background in psychology, Teresa witnessed the bystander effect, a phenomenon where the presence of others discourages individuals from intervening in a situation, as the level of Asian hate crimes increased drastically nationally. She encourages the audience to educate, act, and equip themselves in ways to effectively help in situations of need. In addition, she explains how she never anticipated for the Main Street Patrol to be as successful as it is now, but it only goes to show that you do not need to be afraid. Don’t underestimate the power of people. Unity is powerful. People will stand with you and you will empower others when you follow your passions.
